Woman smiles in front of a tree with a sign that reads "God bless Mia Casa" | Homeless Trust

Ending Homelessness Fund | Miami-Dade County is Experiencing a Silver Tsunami 

One in three individuals experiencing homelessness is over the age of 65. Hundreds of older adults are languishing in emergency shelters or on the streets, a situation exacerbated by the lack of extremely low-income housing and increasingly high cost of living. Because of their age, health and risk profile, homelessness can be a death sentence for those advancing in age. Depression and illness can set in causing a collision course of challenges, like what happened to Mechy Polo, as featured in this CBS story.

Found living in a car, the Homeless Trust stepped in to connect Mechy to bridge housing at Mia Casa – the first of several Trust-owned adaptive reuse projects designed to ease Miami-Dade’s housing crisis and usher in an end to homelessness. The Homeless Trust provided housing and wrap-around services that enabled Mechy to regroup and imagine a brighter future for herself. She no longer feels lonely, and more importantly, she’s able to access the care and support she needs to stay off the streets.

The Ending Homelessness Fund, supported by The Miami Foundation was created to support permanent solutions to effectively address homelessness.

Your Opportunity | Invest In Dedicated Facilities

Units of housing, particularly supportive housing, are needed as there is an extreme lack of affordable rental housing in our community, particularly for the most vulnerable, which includes older adults. The acquisition and renovation of Mia Casa is part of a larger acquisition and conversion strategy to create housing through adaptive reuse.

Acquiring dedicated housing debt-free under the Continuum of Care umbrella versus renting units at market rate provides value for our community. Critically important to tackling the issue of homelessness is tackling the issue of affordable housing and our goal is to add 1,000 new units of extremely affordable and supportive housing in the next year for those experiencing homelessness.

Help us renovate and bring new move-in ready units online so we can move our seniors and others experiencing homelessness to permanent housing. Let’s ensure seniors in Miami-Dade age with dignity!

Find Out More About How We Care For Our Unsheltered:

For additional information on the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, visit www.homelesstrust.org

If you would like to make a contribution by check, wire, or appreciated securities, please contact Trini Miguel at tmiguel@miamifoundation.org or (305) 357-2089.